Area jobless rate lowest in nation

The Houma-Thibodaux area has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

John HarperStaff Writer

The Houma-Thibodaux area has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Just 2.8 percent of Houma-Thibodaux-Bayou Cane job-seekers were without work in February, effectively stretching the seams of the region's labor market.Economists consider the natural rate of unemployment in an economy, or "full employment," to be around 3 percent. That is because seasonal workers and people moving between jobs account for a small percentage of the total unemployment rate. "Low unemployment rates equates to a strong economy. I am excited about this report," Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph said.Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet credits blossoming deepwater oil and gas exploration for nudging the area to the top of the national chart. "We have been seeing a lot of activity in our area generated predominantly because of the oilfield booming in the Gulf. We are an oil and gas service town and we reap that benefit," Claudet said. "The great part is the peripheral things we're seeing. We're seeing an expansion of our retail areas, professional areas, housing. We're seeing an explosion."Houma-Thibodaux has posted the lowest unemployment rate among Louisiana's eight metro areas every month for the past two years, except in October 2012. "We've been very fortunate, working in the oil and gas industry, to be a part of such a strong economy," said Bill Blanchard, president and chief executive at Gulf Island Fabrication, a Houma company that builds offshore oil platforms. Blanchard said the low unemployment has prompted his company to invest more to encourage retention and maintain its current workforce. "If we are successful at retention it makes things better on the productivity side as well," Blanchard said. "We try to train and promote from within and we have our own schools and training programs on site to give us access to a bigger labor market."Employers are extending their reach to try to draw in employees from neighboring areas. After buying a shipyard facility in Houma last year, Covington-based Leevac Shipyards has increased the number of workers at the yard from 45 to nearly 200. It hasn't been an easy task. "It's definitely been a challenge for our business," said Lynn Falgout, operations manager at Leevac. "It's tough finding good qualified people, but we will get there. There is a lot of infrastructure here, a lot of service companies who support our business."Much of the U.S. meanwhile remains mired in the throes of a slowly recovering economy since the Great Recession that started in the late 2000s. The national unemployment rate is 6.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yuma, Ariz., led the nation with 22.9 percent of job-seekers out of work, followed by 21 percent in El Centro, Calif. In Houma, worker shortages in some positions have led to concerns about the competitiveness of local manufacturing firms, specifically shipyards. McDermott relocated its Amelia fabrication facility to Mexico in August, years after management at the company complained of difficulties finding local workers. Claudet said local government is tasked with improving the desirability of the area if more workers are to become available. In February, state unemployment fell to 4.5 percent, down from 6.4 percent from one year ago and the lowest in Louisiana since 2008.Houma-Thibodaux passed up last year's leading metro area, Bismark, N.D., which boasted a 2.9 percent unemployment rate last year before rising to 3.5 this year. North Dakota, in the midst of its own oil field boom, still maintains the lowest statewide overall unemployment at 2.5 percent. "You talk to anybody out there. ... They're telling me if they can pass a drug test they can have a post and that's basically what's happening," Claudet said. "Companies are looking for good people everywhere. If someone in Terrebonne says they cannot find a job I question the reason."The Bureau collects labor statistics for 372 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations over 25,000.

Staff Writer John Harper can be reached at 857-2209 or john.harper@houmatoday.com. Follow him on twitter @JC_HARP.

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